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In my story about the unusually high number of former Santa Ana Mater Dei basketball players who transfer once in college, Bob Gibbons, a national recruiting expert, points to Schea Cotton as a perfect case study of Mater Dei players who peak early.

"Schea Cotton would be a prime example of that," Gibbons said. "He was a kid who never played in college at the level he did at Mater Dei."

Cotton, then only 16, was featured in Sports Illustrated after finishing his freshman season at Mater Dei in 1994. The next season, led by Cotton, Mater Dei went 36-1 and won the state championship.

But Cotton eventually transferred from Mater Dei to Bellflower St. John Bosco, the school he originally attended before transferring to Mater Dei, and his post-high school road included stops at Connecticut, Long Beach City College, Alabama and pro basketball overseas. These days, Cotton no longer plays.

But in reference to why so many former Mater Dei players have transferred, Cotton said the initial transition is what can prove to be the most challenging -- and that most players don't prepare for it.

"The problem is a lot of these kids aren't battle-tested in the summer by kids that are older, stronger, better talented, so when they go into college as a freshman, they can compete," he said.

Yet one recent player who did seem to prepare for that transition -- or who at least did well when he faced it -- and still transferred is Gary Franklin Jr.

Franklin, a highly touted point guard, graduated from Mater Dei in 2010 and signed with California, where he started 11 of the first 13 games, averaging 8.2 points for the Golden Bears.

But, to the surprise of many, Franklin transferred to Baylor, where the 6-foot-2 guard will have three seasons of eligibility remaining beginning in the spring semester of 2011-12 season.

Theories abound on what happened, for Franklin and other former Mater Dei star players who have transferred, too.

"My theory is Mater Dei players get more exposure than other prospects, which can lead to inflated rankings and unrealistic expectations," tweeted Jeff Eisenberg, a national college basketball writer for Yahoo! Sports.

"Many Mater Dei players excel in college in spite of that," Eisenberg added. "Others transfer when their production and playing time isn't what they expected."